Thursday, September 11, 2014

Meet Alan's Odd Duck

A new piece of sculpture is coming to Acacia Park: A funny little duck.

Backed by Concrete Couch and Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts, Alan's Odd Duck will "honor the lives of the many persons taken too soon as children or young adults. The project also celebrates the unique, odd and quirky characteristics that every child (and former child) experiences."

The squat duck comes from a drawing made by Alan Mahaffey as a 6-year-old. Tragically, Mahaffey later died in a car accident. Thus the mission of the piece:

The hope for this project is that a young person, perhaps believing himself odd and unaccepted — can be reminded that being unique is a good and wonderful thing and that parents, struggling with the difficulty of loss and grief of a child — or despair over parenting a difficult child, when looking at the piece — might embrace and remember a joyful moment with their odd but beautiful son or daughter.

The sculpture will replace the "Cubical Cactus" that stood near the Uncle Wilber Fountain in the southwest corner of the park. In a presentation to the city that was ultimately approved, backers Kat Tudor and Steve Wood explained that the cactus is no longer stable enough to stand as is (as the pair had anticipated), so it will be refashioned into a bench, and Alan's Odd Duck will take its place.

With the help of students from D14 and D11 (and possibly Urban Peak), the sculpture will stand between 6 to 8 feet high and stretch about 7 feet in width, with an armature covered in mosaic glass and ceramic tiles.